


Run

by crazy_stupid_potato



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Blood and Gore, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, F/M, Guns, Injury, M/M, Undead, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-22 05:13:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30033576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crazy_stupid_potato/pseuds/crazy_stupid_potato
Summary: The game against the Ravens shouldn't have been the last night of humanity. It shouldn't have, but it was. Now it's been eight years since Neil Josten has seen his family of foxes and is beginning to lose hope until one day some of them find him.
Relationships: Abby Winfield/David Wymack, Allison Reynolds/Renee Walker (All For The Game), Kevin Day/Aaron Minyard, Matt Boyd/Danielle "Dan" Wilds, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 10
Kudos: 51





	1. Alone

Neil Josten sat on the roof of Palmetto State University, feet dangling over the edge. A cigarette was loosely clasped in between his fingers. It was old, nearly 5 years out of date but that didn’t matter to him; he wasn’t taking drags from it.

He watched as a clump of ash fell from the tip It tumbled down to the concrete three stories below. Neil inhaled the scent of smoke, letting distant memories float back to him.

His mother, her body burning in that rundown BMW they had nabbed back when he was just a boy, scared and paranoid. He remembered taking her blackened bones from the car and burying them in the even more black sand of a California beach. The memory of his time at Millport High School followed, just a year after his mother’s death. Back then he had been surprised he had survived that long without being caught, then David Wymack had come.

At first he had been terrified that it was someone who knew him and was looking for him, but then he was terrified of the offer that fell from Wymack’s lips. The offer to play for his rag-tag team of Foxes scared Neil to no ends, but it also enraptured him. Eventually the fear overcame him, and he ran straight into _him_.

Neil remembered Andrew Minyard. Remembered the breath-taking smash of an Exy racquet hitting his gut, remembered the snarling, insane grin Andrew had sported, white teeth bared like a predatory fox.

Neil released a shaky sigh and flicked the rest of the cigarette from his fingers, watching it plummet to the ground.

He remembered the train wreck that followed his meeting with Andrew, his joining of the Foxes. He remembered the night in Colombia, at Eden’s Twilight; the numerous keys Andrew had gifted him; the numerous kisses too. He remembered the awful two weeks at Evermore and the new lies that had followed. He remembered Nathan and the nauseating fear that still came to Neil now, even after all that had happened.

He remembered that game, the last game of the season: Foxes versus Ravens. He remembers after, when he went up to that room in the stadium, and watched as Ichirou - Riko’s brother - shot the bastard in the head. He remembered how the body had risen again, just as the elevator door shut.

Neil shuddered at the memory of the screams that had followed, the gunshots ringing out through the elevator shaft. His uncle had been up there; Neil never saw him again.

He recalled emerging from the elevator, entering the changing room in a panic to be met with the equally panicked faces of his teammates. They pointed to the TV, a reporter informing the country of what Neil thought would never happen.

He had looked at Andrew, his panicked gaze meeting his ever-present calm. Wymack had screamed at them to get to the bus and they all obeyed. The guys met the girls as they rushed onto the bus, not looking back.

The group had been split when they got cornered in Colombia: Andrew’s group from Renee’s group. Coincidentally, really. Wymack and Abby had been swept away with Renee’s group, unintentionally. Andrew had just yelled at them to keep going, that we’ll meet them again at some point. They had thundered through the streets, Andrew telling them to not stop.

Neil remembered being yanked away from the group by undead arms. He had a knife Andrew had given him and he fought with all his might, eventually pushing the undead thing from him. There had been no way to get back to the group, though Neil could see them frantically trying to get to him through the crowd. He cried out to them to go and that he’ll find them. It had been obvious Andrew did not want to, but Nicky and Kevin managed to pull him away.

Neil ran and ran, not stopping for anything or anyone. He scaled a church, climbing up to the top using the skills he had gained from when he had been on the run from Nathan. He had camped there for a while, until the monsters had spread out, then he had stolen a car and hurriedly made his way to the university, praying that he would find Andrew again.

That was eight years ago. He never found them.

Neil could hear the haunting screeches of the undead now, far away. He looked out onto the grounds of the university, seeing figures dart across the lawn. Were they undead or human? He didn’t know but he still swung his legs round from the edge and quickly ducked from view.

He was safe from the undead up here, the entrance to the roof had been barred from his side by many heavy objects and it had proven effective in keeping anyone and anything off the roof that way. However, on the side of the building there was scaffolding, left there from Before. There were ladders the workmen had used to climb the scaffolding. These undead things could climb a small way up a ladder, so Neil only lowered the ladder when he needed to do a supply run, but humans could climb the scaffolding on to the first floor and continue climbing. He didn’t want any potential raiders to see that there was someone camped up on the roof of PSU so he hastily returned to cover.

Neil had created a makeshift tent all those years back. He had crafted it from bedding that he had scrounged from the Fox Tower. He piled a few duvets on top of two pillars he had made from boxes. The boxes had been filled with large rocks and bricks so that they remained sturdy. They were difficult to topple, only massive storms could blow them down but Palmetto was rare to experience said storms and they had only been blown over three times since the tents' creation. Over the top of those duvets’, Neil had secured a tarp so that the rain wouldn’t soak the fabric and cause a leakage. It wasn’t completely waterproof, but it was enough to prevent him from getting drenched, only getting a few splatters on his body. The tent also wasn’t warm, not by a long shot, but Neil was okay with that too. He had gathered enough blankets to be used as a mattress and covers.

The tent was small; just enough room to hold his duffle bag full with clothes and ammunition. Next to the bag lay his rifle leaning against a box in which he kept his food.

It was enough to survive and that was all he needed.


	2. Missing

It was mornings like this that made Neil miss Andrew most.

The air was cool on his face, his nose numb with the chill. He buried his face in the blankets and sighed. Andrew didn’t share a bed with Neil until their trip away after the Baltimore incident, and he never shared one after their trip, but the memory of that short week of Andrew’s warm and steady presence next to him made Neil miss him now.

He missed waking up with Andrew’s arm gently wrapped around his waist. He missed the faint smell of smoke that always lingered with Andrew even after a shower. He missed the smell of his shampoo and deodorant mixed in with that scent of smoke. He missed Andrew waking up as soon as the rhythm of Neil’s breathing changed. He missed every part of Andrew and his chest ached with the want of him.

With a frustrated sigh Neil sat up, rubbing at his eyes with his hands and yawning. He shook his head at the ache he felt. It was ridiculous! Surely he shouldn’t be feeling this ache after so long. Who knows, maybe Andrew moved on. Maybe he pursued a relationship with Kevin, something that Andrew had confided in Neil of wanting, before he met Neil. Maybe he was dead and not wanting anyone. Neil shook his head viciously at that thought. _He’s not dead._ He thought defiantly. That asshole is difficult to kill.

Neil wouldn’t blame Andrew for moving on if he had once he had found him, and he was going to find him. Him and the rest of his Foxes.He sighed once again. He felt that this goal of his was becoming pointless. Neil had been searching for them for eight years and not once had he found them. Though, admittedly, Neil hadn’t left the state of Palmetto at all, leaving the possibility of them being somewhere like South Carolina or Texas or California open.“Maybe it’s time I leave,” Neil said out loud. A frown tugged at his lips. The thought of leaving this little home he’d created was foreboding, but Neil had to admit that supplies in Palmetto were running dry.

Neil sat in his tent, contemplating his choices long enough for the sun to fully rise up into the sky, lighting up the front of the tent. He sighed at the little warmth that he was spared and finally made up his mind.

He threw off the blankets, a shiver running up his spine at the cold and rummaged through his duffle bag, emerging with a map of the US. He ran his finger along the map, following the main roads from Columbia to South Carolina. It would be roughly 7 hours by vehicle to get from Columbia to there. On foot, however, would take him 7 days.

Neil swore. He didn’t have a car, the fuel in the ones down in the parking lot were viable candidates if you knew how to hot wire one, but Neil didn’t. _Maybe there were keys in the Fox Tower?_ Okay, so maybe it was more reliable that he thought, but if there were no keys the only other options were walking or finding a horse. One of those options was unlikely in Columbia, the other would take a lot of resources, ones that Neil doesn’t have.

Neil growled out a sigh.“Tower first, then I can worry about the other options.” Neil nodded, rolling up the map and replacing it in his bag.He picked up his rifle, checking how much ammo he had left then slung it over his shoulder. He secured two holsters on his body: one on his right thigh and the other around his waist, the one around his waist also had a flashlight attached to it. Neil slipped his hand under his left sleeve, checking one of the armbands Andrew had given him Before and checked his knife was secure. Finding it was, he nodded, taking a deep breath in and releasing it slowly, readying himself for a potential fight.


	3. Strangers

Neil cautiously made his way to the Tower, staying low and sticking close to the walls of the university. He flicked his gaze around the grounds anxiously, looking for any threats. He had unholstered one of his guns and had flicked the safety off, ready for any fight.

Before coming down the scaffolding, Neil had scanned the area for any undead or humans using some binoculars he doesn’t remember ever salvaging. 

He had spotted no undead around the Fox Tower, nor any heading that way, but he had spotted a car close to the Tower that hadn’t been there before and, after more scouring, he spotted some potential drivers of that car.

Four figures crouched low and made their way towards the Tower. One or two appeared to be carrying guns. He watched as they slipped inside the Tower. Neil waited with baited breath for the sound of screeching and the pops of gunfire but they never came, so he had hurriedly but quietly scurried down the scaffolding.

They hadn’t emerged since he had climbed down, nor when he started towards it.

He hugged the cars as he crossed the parking lot, checking around every one and listening for any sound of the undead on the other side. He made it to the Tower in record time and made his way inside the building.

He kept his breathing as even and as quiet as he could possibly manage, gripping his handgun tightly.

Neil hid behind the check-in the desk, listening for any sound of movement upstairs or in any of the rooms downstairs. There was none and so Neil re-emerged from behind the desk, vaulted quietly over the barriers that used to only open if you had a pass to scan.

Strange how something that can be so easily bypassed made people feel so secure.

He hastily made his way up the stairwell, gun out in front of him until he reached the floor that used to be his and his Foxes. He paused, feeling choked up at the memories of fights that had seemed so important back then but now felt meaningless.

Neil scanned the area and noticed one of the doors was open ajar. Some random stranger wouldn’t think much of it, but Neil wasn’t a random stranger and he knew that door was closed last time he checked, and it had been locked. There was no damage to the door, so Neil assumed that the strangers had unlocked it via lockpick.

Carefully, he made his way towards the door. Some of his Foxes had stayed there Before. The girls: Renee, Allison and Dan. That was their room. He had salvaged as much as he could carry from there and then never returned, too heartbroken to ever enter again.

Now that he was close to the open door, he could hear murmuring on the other side. Warily, he peered around the door. No one could be seen in the living room so the people must have been in the bedroom or bathroom. Looking quickly behind him, Neil slipped inside the dorm.

He wasn’t sure why he was actively looking for these people, they were armed after all, but he had figured, once he’d seen them and their car, that maybe he could hitchhike with them. It was a good idea if they weren’t raiders. 

Now he was in the dorm, he could hear the voices more clearly and could see the bathroom door was open, not enough for either party to see into or out of the room, but enough that Neil knew where these strangers were.

Slowly, he closed the door to the dorm behind him. It was soundless, not alerting the strangers to his presence.

Then he stood up fully and proceeded, silently, to the bathroom, gun held out in front of him. He avoided all the areas on the floor he knew would creak and quickly arrived at the door.

The talking had stopped just before Neil had closed the dorm door, not in a startled, cut-off way, just a conversation fading to the end and now it was silent in the bathroom save for the rustling of clothes on clothes, signaling that maybe they were patching someone up.

About two feet from the door, Neil coughed, deliberately, and all movement stopped. Neil had the gun pointed at the ground, so as not to appear as a threat while also showing that he was ready to become one if they became one to him.

The people inside moved quickly, the sound of guns cocking loud in the otherwise quiet dorm.

The strangers flung the door open, guns aimed at him.

Neil sucked in a breath and froze, eyes wide: these people weren’t strangers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> any ideas about who these strangers may be and why neil hesitated??


End file.
